Cover The facade of Evergreen House, situated in East Coast, appears unassuming, yet the overflowing greenery outside hints at its rich inner world
The facade of Evergreen House, situated in East Coast, appears unassuming, yet the overflowing greenery outside hints at its rich inner world
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Evergreen House in the East Coast of Singapore replaces outward spectacle with a design where rooms are organised around planted courtyards, filtered light and spaces crafted to be lived in rather than looked at
For a home with such a rich inner world, there is surprisingly little to see from the street. Monolithic forms sit behind a veil of greenery, withholding more than they reveal. Light catches the wood-grain impressed into the concrete, shadows gather beneath deep overhangs, and beyond the entrance; there is only the suggestion of another world. It is an unusually discreet gesture for a newly built landed house in Singapore, where facades often perform for the neighbourhood before they serve the people inside.
Evergreen House has no interest in performance. Designed by AR43 Architects for a young family of four, the 5,300 sq ft, two-storey semi-detached residence turns its attention inwards. It replaces a weathered 1970s house on the same plot, but carries none of the anxiety that often accompanies rebuilding.
Above The living area opens up to nature
The living area opens up to nature
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Completed over 28 months, the project ultimately presents a compelling vision of the contemporary tropical home, one that responds as thoughtfully to climate as it does to the rhythms of its occupants. More importantly, it suggests that luxury today can be found in generous natural light, filtered breezes, enduring materials and the quiet pleasure of living among trees.
Instead of announcing itself through scale or spectacle, it asks a quieter question: what if the most memorable room in the house were open to the sky?
Within the walls
Above The courtyard, glimpsed through a window, is the heart of the home
The courtyard, glimpsed through a window, is the heart of the home
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The answer sits at its centre—not a garden appended to the architecture or an ornamental courtyard glimpsed from a single window, but a living void around which the entire abode gathers. Every major space brushes against it. Morning light slips across its walls before finding the dining room. Breezes thread through it on their way upstairs. At different hours, it is landscape, lantern, and compass.
Above The expansive living room is grounded with pieces from Poliform, including the Mush coffee and side tables and Mad Joker swivel armchair
The expansive living room is grounded with pieces from Poliform, including the Mush coffee and side tables and Mad Joker swivel armchair
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It is also the reason the house feels unexpectedly expansive. In a dense East Coast neighbourhood where neighbouring homes stand only metres apart, AR43 Architects chose not to push outwards towards borrowed views. Instead, the architects excavated space from within. Rooms face one another across planted courtyards. Glass looks out onto foliage rather than fences. The sky appears in fragments, carefully edited rather than fully exposed. Here, privacy is not achieved by shutting the world out; it comes from giving the family somewhere richer to look at.
Above Low-emissivity glazing is used throughout the house to reduce heat gain while maintaining visual transparency
Low-emissivity glazing is used throughout the house to reduce heat gain while maintaining visual transparency
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The commission itself grew out of a family story. Two decades ago, principal architect Lim Cheng Kooi designed the house next door for the homeowners’ parents. Time has a way of testing architecture more rigorously than awards ever can, and that earlier project had aged well enough for the next generation to return to the same practice. It is a quiet endorsement, perhaps the kind that architects value most.
The clients’ brief reflected a similar restraint. They didn’t ask for dramatic gestures or lavish displays. Rather, they wanted a place their children could grow up in, a place work and family life could overlap without constantly colliding, and a place that felt protected without feeling enclosed.
Courtyard compass
Above The stately study boasts an unfettered view of the neighbourhood
The stately study boasts an unfettered view of the neighbourhood
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That balance is difficult to achieve. Many contemporary tropical houses celebrate transparency. Others retreat behind walls. Evergreen House occupies the ground between them. Concrete planes shield the interiors where necessary, while large panes of glass dissolve almost completely when they face the courtyard. The architecture is constantly adjusting its openness, deftly responding to the changing conditions of light, weather and occupation.
Above A Poliform Le Club armchair and Orbit side table hold court in this interstitial space
A Poliform Le Club armchair and Orbit side table hold court in this interstitial space
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Walking through the residence, one notices how often thresholds replace rooms. Covered terraces become living spaces. Balconies linger just beyond bedrooms. Circulation expands, narrows, then opens again. Boundaries feel negotiable, as though the architecture has been arranged to accommodate changing rhythms rather than prescribe them. Greenery completes that choreography.
Above AR43 Architects worked with Nyee Phoe Gardenasia to create a lush sanctuary
AR43 Architects worked with Nyee Phoe Gardenasia to create a lush sanctuary
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Working with Nyee Phoe Gardenasia, a long-time collaborator, the practice assembled a planting palette that feels established. Leopard trees rise through the courtyard, their branching canopies giving scale to the open volume overhead. Elsewhere, Vernonia elliptica, more affectionately known as the Lee Kuan Yew creeper, spills over walls in loose cascades, softening the edges of concrete.
The house earns its name not because it contains many plants, but because vegetation is allowed to shape the architecture itself. Leaves filter light and heat before they reach the interiors. Shadows drift across walls through the day. Windows frame trunks instead of ornaments. Even in stillness, the home never feels static.
In case you missed it: Home tour: inside interior designer Patricia Ho Douven’s autobiographical East Coast apartment
Growing into place
Above Wood motifs paired with natural walnut flooring tie back to the nature-filled theme of Evergreen House
Wood motifs paired with natural walnut flooring tie back to the nature-filled theme of Evergreen House
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The home’s material palette follows the same instinct. Externally, wood-grain off-form concrete gives the building a sense of permanence without heaviness. Engineered timber cladding introduces warmth where the concrete withdraws.
Inside, walnut appears repeatedly beneath one’s feet, in doors, cabinetry and bespoke joinery, quietly tying the rooms together without insisting on attention. Stone and large-format tiles add another layer of texture. Nothing feels selected for novelty, and everything seems chosen with the passage of time in mind.
Above Walnut finishes in this stairwell imbue the space with a sense of warmth
Above Low-VOC paints and coatings were specified for the walls and carpentry throughout the home
Walnut finishes in this stairwell imbue the space with a sense of warmth
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That extends to the environmental strategy. Low-emissivity glazing tempers the punishing equatorial sun while preserving transparency. Cross-ventilation flows through courtyards and carefully placed openings. Deep recesses cast shade exactly where it is needed. Sustainable materials and low-VOC finishes support the health of the interiors, and every single choice is elegantly incorporated without obnoxiously proclaiming its “greenness”.
Above The dry kitchen and bar area feels unhurried thanks to its soothing palette of neutrals
Above The 1977 sofa chairs and Crescent ottoman from King Living create a lounging corner for quiet moments
The dry kitchen and bar area feels unhurried thanks to its soothing palette of neutrals
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Perhaps that is Evergreen House’s greatest strength. So much contemporary residential architecture seeks to impress in photographs. This one seems more interested in the years that follow: the trees growing taller than the roofline, walnut acquiring a softer sheen beneath countless footsteps, children gradually outgrowing the spaces designed around them. Some houses are remembered for the object they become. Evergreen House is instead remembered for the landscape it protects.
Credits
Photography: Studio Periphery
Topics
Based in Singapore, Engracia Ang is an experienced writer specialising in home and living content.
